What lies beyond the forest (Nalu FT fanfic)
by Holy Lucidity
Summary: Natsu moves away from his old town where he was popular due to his parents divorce and his foster father's new job. He lives with his foster father Acnologia, his big brother Zeref and his little sister Wendy. Upon arriving at his new school called Drakenvine high, his first impression leaves people laughing while the only friend he has is his neighbor Levy.
1. Starting a new

Have you ever had a dream where you were walking into your school, standing in front of your locker except in your underwear and spinning that damn locker combination but you forgot it? The bell rings and you know your late for class, spoiler alert! Detention is on its way. Well that's happening to me right now minus the underwear part. But before I get into my school life I should probably tell you why I'm in Drakenvine high or even in this town in general.

Before moving to Fiore

"Natsu! Pack your bags and all that yada yada!" My little sister's voice echoed down the hall. Today was moving day, I should probably explain why we're moving in the first place. We are moving because our parents had a fight, they got in a disagreement with my foster father's new job. His new job which is teaching in a private school is forcing us to move to Magnolia. We are in Alvarez which is across the sea from the continent of Fiore. Yup, nice for me. Meaning leave all my friends behind while I go to some stupid ass school where I'm probably going to get picked on while my sister is probably going to become popular or some shit like that. But that's life and I'm not going to give a fuck if that happens. Then again my life is pretty fucked up as it is, I have a foster father because my other one died. I call him father or dad though. He smokes and can be abusive if we disobey him which is why we listen and do whatever he says, though I don't always listen to him which results in me getting hit by him.

The other reason we're moving is because of all the suicides that's been happening in the area lately. My mother doesn't give a fuck about that, she doesn't care if Wendy grows up around people telling her to kill herself for fun or for freedom. I always blocked out shit like that because you know why kill yourself if there are things that still need to be seen or things still to do? Think about all the people you would leave behind because of suicide? Wendy however lets anything small get to her, she can't block out that stuff like I can which is exactly why we are moving. Wendy may seem standoffish but on the inside she's a wuss. If anyone is wondering where my mother is, after the disagreement about my father's job she left to her parent's house. She doesn't like the idea of moving across the continent.

"I already packed up! Go ask Zeref if he got his stuff!" I yell back. I hear her footsteps going up the stairs past my room into Zeref's room. I hear thumping in his room but I didn't bother to check what was going on as I grabbed my boxes and took them downstairs. I zoomed past my father who was on the porch smoking a cigar and went down the gravel path towards our trailer in the driveway. I opened the trailer and I put all my boxes neatly and organized inside the trailer. You could tell what boxes were mine since I wrote in black sharpie "Natsu" in big letters across the box.

"Natsu! Could you tell Zeref and Wendy to hurry up? I want to leave this wretched place!"

"Sure thing dad!" I answered back before leaving back inside again. As I passed my father, the smoke wafted towards me. I covered my nose and it stung my eyes but I ignored it as I left to go upstairs to get my siblings. I knock on the door before going inside suddenly, "Yo! Dad wants you guys to hurry your asses up!" As soon as I got in all I could see was Wendy on the floor pressing her forehead in pain while Zeref had a baffled expression.

"Natsu! I didn't hit her, it's not what it looks like! She fell over and hit her head!" I glanced in my brothers eyes, he didn't seem to be lying. Wendy didn't seem to be objecting his story either. "Well whatever, dad wants us to get going already! Come on Wendy!" I picked her up and held her around my shoulder. She didn't protest as I carried her towards the truck and opened the truck door putting her in the back seat.

I went back inside to help Zeref with his stuff since he had a lot. He had tons of boxes that I shoved inside the trailer and after the final box I closed the trailer door and locked it up tight. My father burnt out his cigar and got up towards the truck. He patted me on my shoulder before hopping in, I was the last to get in the truck and I was in the back seat beside Wendy while Zeref was in the front and my father was in the drivers seat. We pulled out of the driveway and I watched from behind as my old life was starting to disappear embracing my new one.

"Are we almost there!?" I was clenching my stomach in pain while my brother chuckled at me. He knew I had motion sickness, of course my whole family knows. It's just he makes fun of me for it. "Oh Natsu, we're suppose to be there in another hour!" He smiled happily as I frowned before making a pukey face. I swear he gets enjoyment out of my suffering. Wendy on the other hand falls asleep all the time in vehicles. I would but the movements of the truck make me sick no matter what. My father sighed heavily before turning the corner towards Mare street. I passed out on the seat trying my best to ignore the trucks engine and movement.

"Natsu!" I felt something tug my ear. I sat up immediately after I felt someone pinch my ear and noticed it was Wendy. She examined me quickly before hopping out of the truck and slamming it behind her. I flinched from the force, who knew she had it in her? I slowly got up, realizing the truck isn't moving and went outside. We were at the ferry terminal. Oh great, a boat ride full of me puking all the way to Fiore. I sighed as I noticed my siblings were at the snow cone stand. I decided to go over there myself and got myself a blueberry snow cone and ate it while Wendy had lime and Zeref had strawberry. "Where's dad?" I asked as I realized he wasn't with us, "getting the boarding passes obviously." Zeref pointed out as Wendy giggled at me.

We stood there for awhile longer until we saw our father come out of an office building with four passes. He noticed us and jogged towards us, his jet black hair blowing in the wind. As soon as he took out the boarding passes I snatched mine right away, "Natsu! You could have waited until I started explaining what we were going to do!" He lectured me, I just glared at him, I was about to state something before shutting myself up. "We are boarding the Mystical plain ferry. It will depart from the docks here in forty minutes, I expect you back at the truck in twenty minutes!" He ordered sternly but mostly kept his gaze at me, fearing I might mess this up, "alright boss man whatever you say!" I chuckled before turning my back on him. I ignored his comments when I decided to leave towards the fishing shack.

"Welcome, welcome!" A woman with curly chestnut hair approached me. I glanced around until my eyes landed on the big fish tanks. Ignoring the lady, I went past her and stared at the colorful fish swimming around in the tank. "Oh I see you have an eye for fish? Well blah blah blah..."

"Yeah, uh huh.." I pretended I was listening when really I was blocking the sound of her voice since I really didn't want to talk to her. I checked the time on my watch and noticed I had five minutes before I had to meet up with my family. I heaved a sigh, "Well nice knowing 'ya. I gotta go so yeah bye." I waved half heartedly at her and sped out the door. Father would get mad if I'm late, don't want him to hit me like last time.

I located our truck and opened the truck door before closing it shut. I checked my time and noticed I was a minute early. Zeref and Wendy were already here so we waited it out. After fifteen minutes the lines started moving. Father started the engine for the truck and we waited until our line started moving. Instead of going to the top row like we had hoped we were forced to go to the bottom row which meant we had to get out of the car when we went there. Which was bad. My father recalled the last time I was on the ferry because of my motion sickness he left me on the ferry because he thought I was already in the truck but it was too late for him to search for me and it took awhile for him to get me back.

As we hopped out of the truck, instead of me wandering on my own, my father had to stay with me the whole time. Yup, the whole time. Yeah so the rest of the ferry ride was boring and it took six hours for us to reach Fiore. Most of the ferry ride was me puking which we won't get into details because it was a haunting experience. The ferry was coming to a stop in a few minutes so I got in the truck and sat there while Wendy and Zeref just laughed at me. The ferry came to a stop soon after we got in, all around us people were starting their vehicles, ours started and a sense of unease washed over me as soon as it started. The gates dropped, all the vehicles left in an orderly fashion as my father chuckled which made me more nervous. As soon as we got out of the terminal my father sped up the truck speeding throughout the highway and laughing like a mad man.

"NATSU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Zeref and Wendy yelled in unison. I heaved myself out of the truck, half of my body was in the truck while the upper part of my body was hanging outside of the truck. I puked all over the roads and watched as my puke went on some of the other car's windshields. "PULL HIM BACK IN BEFORE THE POLICE ARRIVE!" My father ordered in a cold tone, I knew it meant he was going to punish me later.

I felt Wendy and Zeref pulling me back in but I refused. I kept my head sticking out as I puked all over the road. I also noticed I accidentally puked on the people walking on the sidewalk. My father kept driving at an insane speed and I felt sicker the more I was in his truck. After a long time of puking Wendy and Zeref finally managed to drag me back inside the truck where I quickly fell over. Wendy snickered while Zeref shook his head in disappointment.

The truck stopped, it took awhile for me to recover but as soon as I did I jumped out of the truck and kissed the ground like crazy. "OH SWEET GROUND! HOW I MISSED YOU!" Zeref pulled me up by the collar of my shirt, "Stop acting like a baby, you are seventeen so act like it!" I glared at him before Wendy intervened, "Why don't we check out our house and say hello to the neighbors?" I noticed we were in front of a house. Assuming it was the one we were moving in I sighed and nodded as well as Zeref.

My gaze traveled around the house in front of me. The house had dark brown walls guarded by broken fences surrounded by blood red thorn bushes. The door was a wooden door with stained glass for a window. There was a garage, the garage door was white with rectangular windows on the top. I didn't have a garage door opener so I couldn't open it. My eyes landed on the wooden door once again as I approached it, this time glancing back at Zeref and Wendy to see if they had the key to open it. Zeref caught my eye and tossed me the keys. I caught them and opened the door slowly and turned on the lights in the hallway. The hallway was a bit dark, there was a blue carpet leading to the kitchen on the floor. Halfway down the hallway a space opened up to the right side of me and I noticed it was the living room.

The living room was empty, all there was to see was the shiny blue walls with black trim and the wooden flooring below my feet. There was a fireplace in the back, the tiles for the fireplace were painted a light blue which brought out the fireplace nicely. I strolled over to the fireplace and placed my hands on top of it, brushing it off. My hands soon collected tons of dust coming from the fireplace which didn't surprise me. When my father looked into the place no one had lived in this house for four years so I had a feeling it would be dusty.

Next to the living room was the dining room. A long wooden table was in the center of the room with a chandelier dangling from the ceiling. The wallpaper in this room was floral which didn't sit too nicely for me as I hissed in disgust going to the next room. The next room was the kitchen. Checkered tiles covered the walls of the kitchen, there was a wine rack in the back of the kitchen with a coffee table and a coffee set. The fridge was beside the cabinets while the oven was in the opposite side of the fridge. The oven was beside the sink which was odd but I didn't question it.

I left the kitchen and headed upstairs. A wood railing supported me which was okay. After I got up the stairs, the smell of dry wall clung in the air. The paint upstairs was peeling off, maybe I will ask father if we could repaint it later. There were four bedrooms upstairs. The first one you find on your left was small, not much space in it or to move around, the one beside it was a bit more wide, it wasn't long and wide, just wide. The one across from the smallest one was long and wide though not as big as the master bedroom which would obviously be father's room. There were bathrooms in every room except the smallest one, there was also a bathroom located at the end of the hall so anyone with that room can go in the bathroom down there.

I didn't want the smallest room so I checked the potential ones I could get. The wide bedroom had walls that had been painted the color of blood lined with black trim. It seemed like a cool room but I didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable if they came here because of my room. I checked the long, wide room next diagonal from the one I was in. As I entered the room to check it out again, I payed close attention to the colors. This room had white walls with golden trim. In my opinion this room would suit Zeref more than me. White walls just seem plain to me.

I didn't feel like checking out the remaining bedrooms so I went outside to tell my family what I thought. As I opened the door outside, Wendy was sitting on the wooden porch step humming a jolly tune while Zeref was tossing a rock in the air and catching it. My father was standing by the truck smoking a cigar as usual. I watched as puffs came out of his mouth as he removed the cigar from contact with his mouth. I swear one of these days he's going to die.

"It's pretty nice I guess." I shrugged as they all looked at me. Wendy pushed past me to get a view of the inside while Zeref just waited. My father chuckled and mumbled "kids" before inhaling a drag from his cigar. "Hey Natsu why don't we go meet the neighbors?" I nodded towards Zeref since we knew we were going to wait a while.

The house next to ours had a mailbox in the front of their house labeled the "McGardens" I sighed and strolled up their driveway. Their house was a deep blue with big windows though they were covered by the curtains from the inside. I saw a brass knocker on their door so I gripped it and banged the door with it.

I could hear the bang rattle the house which immediately made me regret knocking. "Who the hell-" the guy cut off as he opened the door to my face, "oh, aren't you the family that moved in next door that I heard about?" I watched his hands stroke his gray beard, "Yes, I'm the middle child of the Dragneel family. I wanted to meet my neighbors since we're new to these parts." I put my hands in the big pocket in my sweater as he looked shocked at my professional tone I used. At least mother beat something useful into me.

"My daughter Levy is here right now, you can meet her if you want?" I nodded a reply and he invited me inside. Inside the smell of paper made my nose twitch, it smelled a bit musty. "This way." He leads me to a room upstairs and on the door had a sign on it saying "Levy". He knocked on the door, I could hear shuffling going on inside indicating someone was in there. He opened the door and I peered over his shoulder. I saw a petite blue haired female in a some what library like room. She had a book in her face so I couldn't see her eyes.

"What do you want?" She waved at her father to speak, "I brought a boy that just moved in beside us. I thought you both would like to meet?" She put her book down and observed me through narrowed eyes before walking up to me. I took a peek at what I was wearing, I was wearing a long red sweater with black slacks and red sneakers. I might seem like some gangster looking person when really I wasn't trying.

"He seems okay.. call me Levy." She stuck her hand out in a greeting. I happily shook her hand before letting go and stuffing them back in my pockets. "What school are you going to?" I shrugged because I honestly have no idea which school I was going to, "I'm in Drakenvine high so hopefully you transfer there."

"Yeah..." I mumbled.

"Huh? What?"

"Uh. Nothing!" She shrugged before sinking back down in her chair. She seemed riled up a bit and I noticed a bunch of paper balls in the corner of her library like room. "What's with that?" I pointed in the corner full of paper balls, "don't pay attention to those. I was brainstorming story ideas, sadly I'm not like Lu." Wait. Lu?

"Who's that?"

"She's a popular girl in Drakenvine high. She and I clicked when I bumped into her in the library. I'm not popular by the way. I'm known as the biggest nerd." She muttered sadly. I felt bad for her but I didn't know if I was transferring there or not.

"I have to go help my family so see you when I can." I waved a small goodbye before slowly closing the door to her room. I went down the flight of stairs and opened the door to the outside. I left the McGarden's residence and went back to my own. I trudged up the driveway to my house. Everyone was inside. I saw the trailer was open so I grabbed some of my boxes and left inside.

"Natsu, you get that red room." I was greeted by my foster father. He approached me in the hallway entrance, I stepped to the side thinking he was going to go out for a smoke when he grabbed my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

"I want you to meet me in my room when your done." His tone sent shivers down my spine. It was a murderous tone and I knew what would happen.

I shook it off and walked up the stairs to my room. I placed the boxes neatly in the corner before going back outside to grab the remaining ones. After I got the last of my boxes I closed and locked the trailer door and went back inside. I ran up the stairs with all my boxes and placed them in the same corner. After that I headed to my father's room.

My foster father's real name is Acnologia. I don't know his last name since he never told us when he took us in, he let us have our last names remain as Dragneel when Igneel died. He was harsh to us if we messed up. I opened the door to his room. He was by his window which he then turned to face me.

"Natsu..." a stern growl rumbled in his throat, "What's up old man?" I say coolly making sure my voice didn't portray fear in any way. "Your puking incident is all over the news. This greatly embarrasses me, you won't go unpunished!" He rushed towards me and grabbed me by my neck causing me to lift up in the air. I'm weaker than him and he knows that. I claw feebly at him as I feel both the air and my own strength being drained out of my body. He let me go as he realized I lost my strength, but it wasn't over. He dug his nails in my skin and tore some of it off. It stung like hell but I couldn't do shit against him. I'm strong but this old man was stronger, he practiced fighting techniques since he was a kid.

I watched him leave me there and grab a thick brown belt from a drawer. He then tightened his grip on it and rapidly whipped me with it. Pain surged through my body as I yelled in agony. Everywhere my body felt sore and bruised from him hitting me. Everything stung to the point I went mute. He stopped after ten minutes of whipping me with his belt before he glared at me.

"You're transferring to Drakenvine high tomorrow. I already picked up the uniforms and they are waiting for you on your bed." I got up slowly. My muscles screeched in agony, he was always like this to me. I closed the door behind me as I limped to my bedroom. I could hear sniffling in the room beside mine, I didn't bother to check who it was as I collapsed on my bed and let sleep overtake me.


	2. First impressions

My window was wide open, sounds of birds and kids outside laughing and playing woke me up. I sat up, pain shot through my arms to my legs and I noticed dark purple bruises all over my body from last night. It stung but I tried to ignore it as I located my uniform on my bed. The uniform had a short white sleeved button shirt with a striped neck tie and beige plaid pants. A black slim fit jacket came with it. "Probably for when it gets cold." I tell myself as I tie it around my waist. I padded to my bathroom to take a quick look in the mirror.

My salmon colored hair as usual, was in the same spiky style as always though this time some of my hair was in my face so I swept it to the side (basically his hair in the Tartaros arc) it seemed off though. Usually all of it spiked up but this time not all of it did. I squinted a bit in the mirror until I could see the bruises on my arms, I untied the slim jacket from my waist and put it on to hide those bruises. I brushed it off since I didn't want to be late and I still had to eat. I got out of my room as I quickly raced down the flight of stairs towards the dining room.

"Looking slick Natsu!" Zeref commented as I entered the dining room. I ignored his comment as I pull back the chair to sit beside Wendy. In front of me was a stack of pancakes, "You overdid it Zeref. Again." I poured the maple syrup all over my pancakes as I dove right in. The maple syrup was rich and sweet, making my taste buds tingle in joy. The pancakes were soft and fluffy, I thought of clouds when I ate them. I burped as I finished eating and got a glare from Wendy.

"Wait where's dad?" Wendy shrugged while Zeref answered me, "he's at work." He spoke in between bites, "he's working at that private school on Fairy Hill. You know, that school called Muspelt high, he works there as a teacher."

"And why can't we attend that school?"

"Because it costs a lot Natsu, it costs thousands to get into that school." Zeref mumbled, his mouth full of pancakes. "Well I'm going to change into our uniform, why don't you take Wendy to the middle school?" I gave him a hard look before nodding, I might as well. "Okay Wendy, if you're done eating let's go!" She giggled as she quickly finished her pancakes and got her school bag. Today her hair was in the usually pigtails. Compared to my hair, her hair is dark blue.

We got out of the house and I walked her out of our driveway and onto the sidewalk. I glanced behind me to see a hill going up into a dark forest. That forest mystified me, it seemed to lure people in but I quickly shrugged it off. Supposedly Muspelt high was on that hill. I will never get how dad got a job there but whatever.

My legs kind of ached and you can kinda guess why, it's from the beating I got last night. We were still walking, a few minutes still remain before we reach the middle school, Wendy was skipping ahead of me in complete bliss which made me skeptical. Why was I skeptical? Because she was so cheerful. Before we moved she was sour and never wanted to move to this stinking place, now she's happy? Girls honestly confuse me in many ways.

We soon reached her school and I glanced around. Kids were playing and hurling leaves at each other. It seemed fun. I dropped her off at the gate as she ran up to me.

"Bye Natsu! See you after school!" She hugged me goodbye then I watched from the gate as she climbed up the steps to the school. I heaved a sigh as I began walking to my own school. I checked my watch and noticed it was 8:29 am. Wait. 8:29..! FUCK! I'M SO SCREWED! I ruffled my hair in frustration as I sprinted towards my school. First of all, classes start at 8:35. The distance from the middle school to the high school is actually fifteen minutes. I'm not going to make it on time that's for sure.

I knocked over a barrell as I was running and immediately froze. Mr. Belserion got out of his emporium and fastened me with a glare. "Young man, your coming here after school and you are going to clean up my store, I don't want my business to drop because of your actions!" I sighed, guess I have work to do after school, and I was hoping to have time to myself. "Fine, fine! If I have time I will okay?" I grumbled, he hesitated before replying, "if you don't come in after school today I will pull you in tomorrow morning to make up for it." Yup now I have a reason to need to go. I sighed and nodded before I quickly left again. I needed to get to school before I got my ass kicked.

After ten minutes, I finally reached the school! Except one small problem...

"So your Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yes I am Mrs. Lana! I'm Natsu Dragneel and I transfered from the Alvarez continent!" She peered at me before pushing up her glasses. Her steel gray eyes made me nervous and I twitched a bit in anticipation. "I see you're wearing the school uniform. Anyway, here's the schedule." She handed it to me and I gladly accepted it, anything to get away from her!

"If I hear that you're doing anything bad or disruptive at all you get immediate detention! You have five minutes to get to your first class, if you don't get there then detention, running in the halls is detention, if you don't wear your uniform, detention! Also here's your locker number and combination." She slid a piece of paper to me. I quickly grabbed it and I tucked it in my pocket. I gulped as she glared at me with cold, heartless eyes. She was really scary. "Since your new I will let your lateness slide don't do it again." She informed me menacingly as I got up to go to the door.

I bowed quickly before dismissing myself. I got out of the office and ended up being in the hallway. I read the locker numbers in the hallway I was at. I checked my locker number on the piece of paper. "604..combination 12 37 8." I scanned the hallway to find my locker number. There were so many lockers that it was hard to find my locker. Right now I'm at the 300's and across the hall there are the 900's, this school had a confusing order of things. After five minutes of going through almost every hallway on the first floor I found my locker.

"Time to open up!" I spun the combination on my locker only for it not to open. "What the... OPEN YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I yelled at my locker as I began kicking it. I spun the same combination again and again, still won't open. After sixteen tries it clicks and I open it. I put stuff I didn't need in there before quickly grabbing my pencil case and binder while quickly checking my schedule. "English 11 with Mr. Davido. What kind of last name is that?" I shook it off as I read the room number. 3045. That was on the third floor, two floors above me. First class always had to be two floors above.

I sighed as I grabbed a book as well since it's English and closed my locker. I heard it click again as I locked it. I sped to the stairs, not wanting to be late for my class. I shivered at the thought of detention, Mrs. Lana was scary. I raced up the stairs, leaping two at a time as I finally made it up the stairs. I ran straight down the hall and skidded around the corner, I thought I was safe and no one had caught me yet that didn't seem to be the case. A nearby teacher laid eyes on me running down the hall. I stopped running, noticing that I couldn't run away from a teacher as spoke to me, "No running in the halls, detention, also you're late which gives an even better reason for your detention." I heaved a sigh from his words and nodded.

I was about to walk away when the teacher followed me. He tapped my shoulder which caused me to stop and face him. "You must walk in an orderly fashion at all times!" He ordered as he pushed me to begin walking. I started walking down the hall in an orderly fashion though there was no one else in the hall and he followed me as I did so. As I reached my classroom he glared at me before saying something else, "I will inform Mrs. Lana about your behavior, you will get detention no matter what." He finished as he walked professionally down the hall leaving me in front of the English classroom door. I braced myself as I knocked on the door.

"New student?" A dark brown haired girl answered the door, I nodded and she impatiently waved me in. I glanced around the classroom to see if there were any available seats. I found a lone stool in the corner of the classroom near a stack of books. Great start of the day!

"And you are?" A tall old man addressed me. He was wearing a gray fedora and a gray suit. He squinted as he took off his glasses then placed them on his face again. "I just transfered here. I'm Natsu Dragneel." I say casually though I hid my embarrassment. He nodded and pointed at the lone stool in the back which was the same one I had seen earlier. I hissed in disappointment as I went there but before I could reach the stool something or someone tripped me.

I face planted. I quickly got back up and glanced around angrily, trying to pinpoint the one who did it. I noticed a guy with long spiky black hair snickering at me. He had a bunch of piercings on his face. He was right beside me too when I fell which meant he must have done it. I noticed he had one of his feet sticking out. "Hey metal head! Watch where you put your foot!" I spat, he immediately glared at me threateningly and grabbed the collar of my shirt. I grabbed his in return and for awhile we just bickered while throwing each other at desks or shelves. I didn't realize until now that Levy was in my class as I accidentally threw metal head at her.

"OH SHIT! LEVY!" I shouted, Metal head immediately stopped himself from crashing into Levy. I notice them staring at each other for a long time, wait. Is Levy BLUSHING? Her face was really red like an apple. I noticed Metal head's face was a bit flushed as well. I laughed at his face like an asshole which I technically was and literally spat in his face. "HA FAGGOT! SCARED OF ME THROWING YOU AT LEVY!" Before I knew it a flash of blonde appeared in front of my eyes and I felt a hard slap on my right cheek.

"You shouldn't be laughing, you almost hurt my friend!" Where the fuck did she come from? I never even noticed her here until now!

She was wearing a plaid skirt with a white buttoned short sleeve shirt. She had white high knee socks with brown shoes. I stared at her and for a moment, only a moment, it felt like time stopped. Her brown eyes sent daggers my way before she turned her back on me and went to help Levy, leaving behind a trace of vanilla. "Who the hell is that?" I scowled. No one slaps me and gets away with it! "Hey kid, you shouldn't mess with her, she's Gray's girl." That annoying voice, I hissed and turned to face the metal head. "I don't care, I will show her who's boss!" Before I could do anything else Mr. Davido grabbed both me and the metal head and practically yelled in our ears.

"You stupid kids! You both get detention! No fights in class!" He made us sit in the corner as the rest of the class laughed at us, "Great first impression, newbie!" A dumb blonde haired guy mocked, "Shut up blondie!" I scowled. "Alright that's enough, break it up before you stay in the office longer than you need to!"

I was sort of limping to the cafeteria. It was lunch now and I was alone. No wonder everyone has been laughing at me ever since I got here. My bruises were a bit worse now since metal head hit me really hard in the stomach earlier. I went up to the lunch lady and got a tray where she basically dumped a pile of veggies and some mashed potatoes on my tray. I got some chicken legs from the self service line and went to find a seat.

"Natsu! Over here!" I heard my name being called and saw Levy waving her arms like crazy. I sighed, normally I don't hang out with nerds. Today will be different! I slid next to Levy where I noticed she was reading a peculiar flyer. "What is that?" I pointed at the flyer she was reading. There was some creepy sketch of a witch on it, it was also kind of wrinkled. "There is a scholarship going on to attend Muspelt high." Now I'm curious.

"What kind of scholarship exactly?"

"A soccer one, whoever is on the winning team gets to be a part of Muspelt high, meaning you can transfer there." It seemed like a good opportunity to me. I snatched the flyer from Levy and read when it started. "Team tryouts will be on October 9th. That's a Monday!" I groaned, Levy giggled a bit. "Well I'm sure you will do fine."

"Yeah, yeah sure..."

Today was October 5th. I transfered here a month late. Basically today is Thursday and I don't have much time.

I was about to say something when something on the announcements cut me off.

"NATSU DRAGNEEL! COME TO THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY! NATSU DRAGNEEL! COME TO THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!" The message on the speakers repeated twice in a serious tone before turning off. Levy gave me a concerned look as everyone in the room faced me in astonishment.

Well I'm in deep shit now.


	3. Trouble

"Natsu, Natsu, Natsu..." Mrs. Lana tapped her desk with her fingers impatiently. Tap, tap, tap. I listened nervously as she took off her glasses and peered at me, her steel gray eyes sent chills down my spine. They made me think she had pierced my chest.

Yeah so I will explain, I got in trouble. I picked a fight with metal head then I was late for class then ran through the halls and so on. This school is way too strict on students and I thought it was retarded. Of course I can't do shit and it's stupid metal head didn't get in trouble for tripping me.

"Aye! Metal head started the fight! I never did shit! He tripped me!"

"You fought back and almost hit a student who wasn't even involved." She sighed at me causing me to growl, I opened my mouth to protest but she cut me off and kept going, "You got others involved and even had to have another student stop you before you went further. I thought you would know better Natsu Dragneel-" she mentioned my last name with pure disgust which confused me, "but I guess I put too much faith in you. You can leave now." She finished as she put her glasses back on. I sighed and grabbed my book bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

"By the way, if you cause trouble again, detention for a week." She shooed me out of her office. I could see the expressions on the faces of the office staff when I left her office. Most of them were disappointed while a few were slightly annoyed. I shrugged off the feeling when the bell rang. I grabbed my book bag which I was carrying around my shoulder and reached for the schedule. Math class! I read the room number which was 1038 and it was on the same floor as I am on right now which was the first floor.

I walked down the hallway until my eyes landed on the room number 1038. I stopped in front of the door and took a quick breath in and out. Don't worry Natsu! You can do this! Show them who's boss! "YEAH!" I fist pumped the air and noticed I accidentally yelled that out loud. I rubbed my neck nervously as other students stared at me.

I put my hand on the door knob and turned it slightly. Alright Natsu, you can do this, just calmly say your name and sit down. I open the door to a quiet classroom. This time there's a seat for me since I got here early and I went to sit in the middle. As I sat in my chair I stretched out my arms across my desk and nuzzled into my arms feeling quite content. Soon the doors opened and students began filing into the classroom looking for any open table available. I ignored them as I continued my snooze until I heard someone's voice that sounded like they were above me.

"And who may you be?" I looked up from where I was sitting and noticed a short gray haired old man looking at me, he was right next to my desk too. I'm guessing he's the math teacher. "I'm Natsu Dragneel! I just transfered here today." I answered. He nodded and peered at his attendance list, skimming through the pages until he found my name. "Ah, it's nice to meet you. I'm the math teacher Mr. O'Brian." He shook my hand and went back to his desk. "Class will be starting shortly, take out your work books and open to page seventy-nine in the mean time."

"Uh, I don't have a workbook!"

"Partner up with Miss. Heartfilia beside you then." He pointed at the blonde haired girl beside me. As soon as our eyes met she scowled at me. What's her problem? "I'm sorry we weren't introduced very well earlier, I'm Natsu Drag-"

"I know who you are." She cut me off. Her nose twitched in disgust and I tried my best to ignore it. "Well okay, just share with me!" She heaved a sigh as she moved her desk right beside mine and placed the workbook in the middle between our two desks. She told me what questions we were doing, I quickly got out a lined sheet of paper with a blue pencil and jot all the questions down on my paper before letting her have her book back. By the time class started I answered three out of nine questions that were assigned for homework.

"Cana Alberona!"

"Here ya hoe!" I flinched at the tone she used but the teacher didn't seem to care.

"Sherry Blendy!"

"Hello~" a hot pink haired girl called out.

"Rogue Cheney!"

"Here sir!" I turned my head and the guy behind me was the one named Rogue. He had black hair, half of it covering the right side of his face.

"Zeref Dragneel!" Wait, did he say Zeref?

"Here!" I located the voice and realized he's beside a window in the far right side corner of the class, he locked eyes with me and smirked. I didn't think I had any classes with him. Oh wait, this is a split class. Before I could even speak the teacher called my name, "Natsu Dragneel!"

"Yo!" I grinned. The Heartfilia woman looked over her shoulder, giving me a glare before facing up front again. I shrugged it off, I could care less what she thinks of me.

"Gray Fullbuster!"

"Shut up old man!" I heard an agressive reponse beside me. I turned to the left and noticed I'm sitting beside a guy with raven colored hair. The top part of his shirt was unbuttoned but I paid no attention to that. I mostly focused on the cold glare he gave the teacher. "R-right.." sweat beaded down the teacher's face. Was he scared of him?

"Lucy Heartfilia!"

"Here." The blonde haired girl on the right side of me responded back. She turned towards me and for a second I thought she was looking at me when really her gaze went past me to the guy on the left side of me. Gray. I ignored whatever she was doing as I just sat there in complete boredom waiting for class to end.

~~~

The teacher assigned us more homework and he gave me a homework log. He said every class we have with him he will check if I did my homework and sign off my homework log if I did. Class ended shortly after. I got out of the classroom and walked towards my locker. I spun the combination a couple of times before I started getting frustrated. I kicked my locker in anger, I ignored all the comments and looks the other students were giving me as I practically wrenched it open. I heard a click and it finally opened. I grabbed some of the books I was given from class and shoved them in my book bag, I slung my book bag over my shoulder and closed my locker door. I heard my locker door click meaning it locked and I waltzed to the foyer.

It was the end of the day meaning I had to pick up my sister, not to mention help out Mr. Belserion. Before I left the school I decided to call Zeref so he can pick up Wendy. I didn't want to be late or else Mr. Belserion would have made me work for him in the morning, which I couldn't afford. I left in a light jog. I didn't want to run into anyone which was why I left early. On the way I caught a few of my classmates snickering at me, I ignored them anyway, I don't want them to see my reaction to them, that's all they want.

~~~

"I'm here sir!"

"Finally showed up huh kid, I thought I would have to walk to your house in the morning and see if you were home."

"Honestly, I would rather be at school than see your face in the morning..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Yes, I'm at Mr. Belserion's emporium. Reason why? Well, I knocked over his stuff and I said I would make it up by working with him after school.

"Get a broom and sweep over there!" He pointed at a bunch of scattered dust bunnies in a corner in the room. I groaned and got the broom. I padded to the corner and swept up the dust bunnies into one big pile before leaving to get the dust pan. Once I got it I went back to the corner, grabbed my broom and started sweeping the dust bunnies into the dust pan before disposing of them by putting them in the garbage can.

"Anything else?"

"Clean the counters!"

He pointed at a basket of rags I could use to clean the counters with. I grabbed a rag with red stripes all over it and went to the back room. The back room had a sink. I got a gray bucket by the side and filled it up with hot water before adding soap into the mix. I mixed it up by stirring it with the rag before carrying the bucket to the front.

When I set down the bucket of water beside the counter, a little bit of water splashed on the floor. I quickly went to grab another rag to dry it up. Mr. Belserion shook his head in disappointment as he watched me before carrying on with his day. It did piss me off, I could have just NOT showed up and see his reaction. He should be grateful I even decided to show up. "Fucking scumbag!" I muttered under my breath, "What's that boy?"

"Nothing sir!"

For the rest of my time I dusted the counter tops and restocked store items. I decided to reorganize the shelves as well. A certain book fell on top of my head as I was cleaning. "Ow! What the hell is this!?" Mr. Belserion wasn't in the room at the time. As I examine the book, I notice the spine of the book is a bit... destroyed. The cover was dusty from age. I blew on the cover, dust flew around the room as I kept blowing dust off the cover. Some went up my nose and I sneezed loudly.

"Does he ever clean his books?" I rubbed my eyes and opened them again. My eyes landed on the big words on the cover. The cover had a creepy girl on it, she was wearing a mask and was cowering in the dark. "The history of the Celtic culture? What the fuck is this?" I opened the book slowly. A picture of someone wearing a silver feather on their head in old fashioned clothing caught my attention. They were hiding from someone... or something.

"Natsu! What are you doing!?" I heard a deep voice behind me and turned around to face Mr. Belserion. "This book fell on my head that's all!" He inspected me before taking the book and shooing me away from him. I continued cleaning, waiting for him to be satisfied.

~~~

"Don't do it again!"

"Yeah okay." I replied as I left.

I finished helping Mr. Belserion with his emporium. I was in the middle of the street on my way towards my house when suddenly I felt a sudden urge to yell something. "I want to be popular again!" I shouted, my voice echoed down the empty street. A few crows on a branch above my head flew away. No one else had heard my complaint. I kept thinking about how my life was so much better before I moved here.

Now my life is different and the only friend I have is Levy. If only I could attend the school my father is working at. Muspelt high, the private school that sat on top of Fairy hill. The school was relatively close to my house, it was just down the road and up Fairy hill to reach it. Everyone called the hill Fairy hill because there was a rumor fairies lived there. The hill was very eerie at night and people call it a dark and creepy place, why would a fairy want to live in an eerie, dark and creepy place? Well I have no idea.

The school was named Muspelt high because Fairies are basically myths. Muspelt is a myth as well, I don't mean the school, I mean the name where it was from. The school itself was a beautiful stone building that had been around for almost forever, and it was pretty fancy.

Since Muspelt was a private school they wore uniforms, just like Drakenvine, but theirs was fancier. It was expensive to go there, they can probably afford nicer teachers.

I read about the school when I had free time. That school sounded fun and exciting. Zeref mentioned that the classrooms are usually empty because the students are often on field trips. What's more, I loved sports and the school had amazing athletic facilities. To top it off, all the kids who went there weren't even from this town meaning a new person could fit in and not have to worry that he hasn't known everyone since kindergarten.

If only I could go there... I shook my head. There were only two high schools in this town, and that one, Muspelt, costed a fortune.

"I wish I could go to Muspelt!" I told the crows, though I knew there was no hope. One of the crows fluttered by and landed on top of a signpost, then another landed on the sign, and another. Below the three crows was a poster with the same eerie, green-faced witch that I'd seen on those flyers earlier from when I was with Levy.

I walked over for a closer look, I noticed that the witch had a sly smile and seemed to be grinning right at me. The poster advertised a soccer match that took place on Fairy hill on the night of Halloween.

"This can't be true..." I wide eyed the flyer in shock. I wasn't exactly having a run of luck since my parents divorced. I tried my best to not get excited but my heart beated faster anyway.

Muspelt high was sponsoring the soccer match. Try-outs were on October 9th after school. The 9th was a Monday. Athletic scholarships to Muspelt would be awarded to everyone on the winning team. If I made the team and won, I could be attending Muspelt by at least late November! Though I read this at lunch, I didn't get to have a close look at it since I got in trouble. I'd never heard about anyone winning a scholarship from a single soccer game, but so what? This was my chance! I'd do anything to get away from Drakenvine high, anything.

Before I raced home, I hesitated for a second and looked back at the poster. I swear the crows on the top of the sign were laughing at me.

~~~

"I'm back!"

"Welcome home Natsu!"

"What were you doing?"

Wendy came rushing towards me, she leaped and hug tackled me as soon as I opened the door while Zeref gave me a questioning look. "I was held up a bit, don't worry!" I ruffled Wendy's hair as Zeref eased a bit from my explanation. "Levy is coming over on Saturday!"

"Also father is going to be home late tonight." Zeref spoke as he leaned on the door frame towards the kitchen. I nodded a reply as I pried Wendy off of me.

"So what will dinner be?"

"Spaghetti." Wendy loves spaghetti. "Ah okay. Hey Zeref, I'm going to be participating in the soccer game!" I told Zeref, he eyes me curiously which makes me wonder why. "Natsu, just do your homework, eat, get your clothes for tomorrow and all of that. We have school tomorrow, I will talk to you about your soccer game later." He walks off leaving me to glare after him. It's like he doesn't want me to try out for the soccer match!

After I ate I brushed my teeth before changing into my pajamas and flopping on my bed. Hopefully the weekend will be better. I also need to make sure I don't get in trouble at all so I can go to try-outs on Monday. I laid there staring at my ceiling thinking about tomorrow.


End file.
